Padres come back to beat Rockies 8-7 in crazy 9th inning
Credit: Padres
The San Diego Padres offense exploded with two outs in the ninth to shock the Colorado Rockies in an 8-7 victory.
With the victory, the Padres move back into first place in the National League West.
The game started with Charlie Blackmon continuing his killing of Padres pitching and domination at Coors Field with a two-run home run. Garrett Richards settled in nicely after the bomb, not allowing any more runs until the sixth inning.
The San Diego bats were also quiet for the first half of the game. That changed when the Padres scored three runs to push Jon Gray out of the game. A Trevor Story error on a potential double-play ball kept the inning alive.
In the bottom half of the sixth, Richards left the game with two runners on and two outs. With a lefty at the plate, Padres manager Jayce Tingler brought in left-handed pitcher Matt Strahm. Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black countered with former Padre and known Padres killer Matt Kemp, and he delivered a two-run double to take the lead 4-3.
The Padres answered in the seventh. Francisco Mejia replaced Austin Hedges and notched a hit, the first for the Padres catchers in 2020. With two outs, Fernando Tatis Jr. cashed him in to tie the game at four.
After Matt Strahm allowed a two-run double in the sixth, he remained on the mound for the bottom of the seventh with two lefties due up. The righty bunched in between David Dahl and Charlie Blackmon, Trevor Story, took Strahm deep, spoiling the strategy. The Rockies now lead 5-4.
With closer Wade Davis on the mound, the Coors drama ensued with two outs. Fernando Tatis Jr. cleared the wall to tie the game, and the Padres weren’t done yet. Trent Grisham worked a long walk and then stole second base. With an open base, the Rockies opted to walk Manny Machado and face Tommy Pham. Pham made Black pay by crushing a go-ahead three-run bomb.
You know what, it ended up raining in Denver after all. ☔️#FriarFaithful pic.twitter.com/UUCZkhXvyw
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 1, 2020
With an 8-5 lead, Kirby Yates came in looking for his first save of the year. Yates didn’t look like himself again, throwing balls and hittable strikes. After Yates loaded the bases once the game became 8-7, Tingler pulled the best closer in baseball from a year ago to bring in Drew Pomeranz. Pomeranz recorded the final out to end a long ninth inning.
The bullpen faltered again, but the San Diego Padres found another way to get the win. After ending July at 6-2, the Padres will look to carry over their strong start into August.
Saturday’s game will be between two left-handed pitchers. Joey Lucchesi and Kyle Freeland will both be making their second starts of the season. The first pitch is at 5:10 p.m.
Dominic is a graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Journalism. He also is the producer and co-host of the “Padres EVT Podcast.”